Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 3rd

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.84 per share on Friday, September 25th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This is a 2.4% increase from Principal Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82.

Principal Financial Group has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Principal Financial Group has a payout ratio of 37.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Principal Financial Group to earn $10.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.3%.

Principal Financial Group Stock Down 1.1%

Principal Financial Group stock opened at $110.16 on Tuesday. Principal Financial Group has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $116.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.18. The firm has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. Principal Financial Group had a net margin of 9.93% and a return on equity of 16.49%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 9.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PFG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Principal Financial Group from a “sell” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $114.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Principal Financial Group from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Principal Financial Group from $94.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.67.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ: PFG) is a global financial services company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, that provides a range of retirement, investment and insurance solutions to individuals, employers and institutional clients. The firm’s business is organized around retirement services, asset management, and insurance products designed to help clients plan, invest for, and protect income over the long term.

Principal’s product and service offerings include retirement plan recordkeeping and administration for employer-sponsored plans, individual and group retirement annuities, life and disability insurance, employee benefits solutions, and wealth management services.